Warren Gatland became only the fifth Lions' coach of the game's modern era to mastermind a Test series victory, but he said he did not feel like celebrating the feat because of the abusive criticism he had received after dropping Brian O'Driscoll from Saturday's 's decider. Gatland was accused by former Lions Keith Wood and Austin Healey of betraying Lions tradition by naming 10 Wales players in his starting lineup for the deciding third Test and minimising the chances of winning the series by omitting the 134-cap O'Driscoll.

The Lions responded by scoring their highest ever points tally, 41, in a largely one-sided romp that sent some 28,000 travelling supporters into raptures. No one left the arena as the captain on the night, Alun Wyn Jones, and the tour skipper, Sam Warburton, lifted the Tom Richards trophy before the squad did a lap of honour.

"It was an exceptional performance," said Gatland. "The players deserve the credit: we had talked about the need to push themselves to the limit and they ran themselves into the ground. Our strong scrum gave us the impetus. It was brilliant and I thought Alex Corbisiero, who was also sensational around the field, deserved to be the man of the match.

"At the moment I do not feel a lot of pleasure because of the amount of personal criticism that was placed on me after the team announcement. I was absolutely shocked by what was said: the criticism was almost vitriolic. When we sat down on Tuesday to pick the team, we knew we were making a tough call with Brian but there have been other players on this tour who have been unlucky in terms of selection.

"I have not enjoyed the last 72 hours and it has been tough personally. It is not a case of feeling vindicated after the win: maybe in a week or two I will get some pleasure out of the achievement. When you are in this job you have to make tough calls and every now and again you get one of them right. There are times when you have to put your balls on the line."

The Lions followed the squads of 1971, 1974, 1989 and 1997 in returning home victorious and the achievement will not only give the game in Britain and Ireland a lift, but it will put the tourists in a stronger position when it comes to sorting out the schedule for the next tour, to New Zealand in 2017, and the new agreement with the Sanzar unions which will kick in after that.

"A Lions tour is special and we need adequate time to prepare," said Gatland. "It was frustrating this time and given the interest, hype and money the Lions generate, we have got to do it properly. The success here is fantastic for rugby and it will create excitement and interest. The home unions and the clubs must get together to ensure there is proper preparation time in future."

After making the sky fall in on Australia, the Lions celebrated with the James Bond actor Daniel Craig after the game and invited the Wallabies into their changing room for a bottle of beer and to exchange jerseys. "You have to enjoy these moments," said Gatland. "There is nothing between agony and ecstasy in Test rugby. The players have done the jersey proud: we are not leaving until Tuesday and I hope the next 48 hours do not get out of hand."

The Lions were without Warburton and the 2009 captain Paul O'Connell as well as the 2005 leader O'Driscoll. Alun Wyn Jones wore the armband having skippered Wales only once and led from the front, setting up the opening try of the game inside a minute.

"I cannot really describe how I feel," he said. "The players showed real character and full credit to the guys who came off the bench. I was feeling it with 20 minutes to go and they carried me through. The Lions' fans were magnificent, a 16th man for us. Their support means a huge amount to us."

Jamie Roberts, who missed the first two Tests because of injury, scored the Lions' fourth and final try. "It is one of the most special days of my life," he said. "We have reignited the flame for the Lions and four years cannot go by quick enough for us to get together again."

The Australia coach, Robbie Deans, who will face calls for his dismissal this week, said the scrum decided the series. "They used the set piece to great advantage," he said. "The Lions play the game in a very simple way and we needed to take them out of their comfort zone. We have the Rugby Championship to look forward to and that is totally different in terms of what comes your way."